成化元年における散館請願について : 明朝庶吉士制の檢討

Abstract

In the first year of Chenghua 成化, Ji Li 計禮 and other Hanlin Bachelors (shujishi 庶吉士) petitioned Grand Secretary Li Xian 李賢 to be "released from the academy" (sanguan 散館), that is, to be assigned official posts. The fact that Hanlin Bachelors would request a release from the academy was in itself unusual. Ji Li's negotiating point was that, if only the period of the bachelors' training was complete, they should be released. There was also the question of Li Xian's own qualifications as a Grand Secretary. Nevertheless, these were not the only reasons behind the request. In the first place, the system of Hanlin Bachelors was one that secured talented men from the jinshi pool and gave them special training in order to nurture outstanding officials for the future of the state. Also, it was a source of Hanlin Academicians who would rank with those in the first class of jinshi graduates. The early Hanlin Bachelors served in close attendance on the emperor, and they could appropriately be called true elite. However, those Hanlin Bachelors who did not become Hanlin Academicians were not given any special treatment compared with other jinshi when being assigned to office. Moreover, after Xuande 宣徳 5 (1430), when the system of the Grand Secretariat was established, all aspects of government, including appointments, came to reflect the intentions of the Grand Secretaries. A system of examinations for Hanlin Bachelors was brought in with the result that the training for bachelors lost its original goal and became what was considered to be no more than a mandatory period of duty. In other words, it can be said that, against this background, the petition to be released from the academy represented an inherent problem in the system of Hanlin Bachelors.